Mercku to introduce new smart audio with upgraded mesh Wi-Fi at CES 2019

Canada-based IoT company Mercku announced it will unveil its new smart home system with Wi-Fi smart speaker nodes in the Smart Home Market Place at CES 2019.

The independently controlled speaker nodes, named Hummingbirds, will be powered by Mercku’s third-generation mesh Wi-Fi system, the M3.

The audio system can be controlled from Mercku’s app, allowing users to connect Hummingbirds to their preferred music library.

“With Hummingbirds, music can be played from different phones on different nodes at the same time, ideal for families or even one person moving from room to room,” Mercku says.

Many smart speakers in existence today have a form factor large enough to require dedicated space on tabletops. Hummingbird node differs in that its smaller size allows it to be placed in the palm and can be plugged to the wall outlet anywhere, giving users more flexibility to add connected audio to the home.

The speaker nodes can be detached and moved around the home for a party or just to enable surround audio effect.

Hummingbird can be wireless charged, Mercku says. “The speaker magnetically connects to the base and charges wirelessly, delivering up to 10 hours of battery life on a full charge.”

Middle ground between smart speaker and Bluetooth speaker

The company aims to provide a middle ground between high-end smart speakers, which tends to have a large form factor, and Bluetooth speakers, which are cheap and portable but only pairs with one device at a time, according to Blake Jin, Product Lead at Mercku. “Hummingbirds fill the gulf in the middle with affordable high-quality audio for every room of your house with zero footprint on your desks, tables, and countertops.”

The audio system will be connected to Mercku’s latest M3 router to form a mesh Wi-Fi network, covering as many as 6,000 square feet, according to Mercku, which adds signals will reach around walls and through floors to eliminate dead spots.

Compared with Mercku’s previous M2 system, M3 has improved power amplifier, internal system and chipset integration, the company says.

The new system is backward compatible with the M2 Hive mesh system and other Mercku products.

Technology to minimize interference

The new system is also designed to reduce signal interference. Interference and frequency noise are common challenges for Wi-Fi and smart home devices.

“Audio noise caused by disruptions from TDMA signals and demodulated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals, both operating in the 2.4G frequency band, can generate a static, buzzing sound in speakers or microphones,” Jin explained, adding that “over-the-air frequencies (GSM, Wi-Fi, 4G) and signals generated in audio devices, when modulated, can compound the interference, creating even more static buzzing and impairing audio quality.”

The Hummingbird speakers use Mercku’s noise reduction technology to lessen signal interference, in order to create high-quality audio, while maintaining a compact and sleek form factor that fits in any room or setting, the company says.

The new Mercku audio system will be available at retail and online globally in mid-2019.